The peach has been cultivated by humans for more than 4,000 years. Its long domestic history has undoubtedly contributed to its cultural and economic significance, but now, thanks to the recent elucidation of its full genome sequence, the peach fruit tree (Prunus persica) is well on its way to achieving a new kind of significance—serving as an ideal plant model for biofuel research.

Domestication and breeding of peach trees has led to the propagation of genetic variants that dictate tree growth and fruit development and production. That diversity of genes is thought to underlie many of the differences that exist among the numerous varieties of peach. For instance, it likely explains why some varieties have soft, “melting” flesh, whereas others are chewy or crunchy; why the flesh peels easily from the stone in freestone varieties or sticks to it clingstone varieties; and why some types of peach trees are simply more productive than others. Productivity, in terms of biomass, or plant-derived material, is of particular interest in biofuels research, and scientists expect that close examination of the peach genome will provide critical insight into ways to improve yields of plant biomass, thereby increasing the “fuel” of biofuels.

An especially striking realization to come out of the new peach genome study is the close relationship between the DNA sequences of peach and poplar. Poplar is an emerging biofuel crop, largely because it is fast-growing and cellulose-rich. Its large genome, however—black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa), for instance, was reported in 2006 to have more than 45,000 protein-coding genes—makes it a tad unwieldy for efficient genomics research. Hence, the appeal of the peach, which has a more manageable genome, made up of an estimated 27,852 protein-coding genes.

Additional comparative analyses that were carried out as part of the peach genome research have raised other intriguing questions. For instance, the size of the peach genome is on par with that of the grape (30,434 genes) and markedly smaller than that of the apple (57,386 genes). All three fruit species, however, likely had a common ancestor, one that existed prior to the divergence of their families, Vitaceae (grape) and Rosaceae (peach and apple).

That, I think, is some real food for thought for the human frugivore. Whether we enjoy these fruits whole or as juice or wine, it is something to wonder over their origins.